I know this is a redundant post to my last one, but I feel so overwhelmed by emotions about it, that I feel like I have more to express.

Our “baby” Paige was baptized and confirmed a member of the church on Saturday May 4th. It was a gorgeous day and attended by several friends and family. She was so excited and her Grandma Bird made her a special white dress just for the occasion.

He Grandpa Bird baptized and confirmed her and it was a very special moment for all of us. I was at the top of the steps of the font to help her out and the look on her face was priceless. It was all screwed up and she just stared at me. I think the “dunk” was a surprise for her even though earlier this year at the Baptism fireside they let her do a “dry” run to go through the motions.

I’d like to say a special thank you to the missionaries for taking the time to give our family the baptism discussions and to help Paige further prepare for the event. It was wonderful to have them in attendance as well. Even though I grew up in the church, the discussions were great for me because it reviewed and taught me things I either didn’t know or have just put in the back of my mind over the years.

After we finished at the church, everyone came back to the house to enjoy pulled brisket sandwiches that Steve had made. He’s such a great cook! We enjoyed them so much that we made more for lunch after church the next day. Along with his fabulous potato salad that he just pulls out of his head every time he makes it.

We are so blessed to have the knowledge that belonging to this church gives us. The beauty of knowing that as long as we live righteously and do our best we can live together for eternity. Even though we live in difficult times where temptation is everywhere and in some cases have become acceptable in society, we have great leaders and resources to assist us in making the right choices and live happy lives.

My heart is overflowing with gratitude for everything we have. Everything from the comfort of having the Holy Ghost to help guide me to air freshener for those moments when breathing through your mouth to get through the smell just isn’t enough. We are so lucky to have a family that because Steve and I were sealed in the temple have taken one of the essential steps to live together eternally. Although I’m definitely not the poster child for the church, I do my best and try to live as an example to my children to do what is right and be happy. To show them that they are loved and that they can always come to me if they need anything or ask their Heavenly Father for help or comfort.

The past year has been difficult for me as I slowly recover from my experience with Guillam Barre Syndrome and even though I know it could take years to completely recover, I believe that the blessings, family fasts and prayers from friends and family have made a difference in my progress. I am so grateful for that and I thank everyone that has held me in their thoughts and prayers.

I hope that whatever you believe that you find comfort in your lives and happiness at every turn.

Today my beautiful baby girl was baptized. I’m so proud of her decision, but heartbroken to realize that my baby is old enough to reach such a milestone. I seems like just yesterday that she was a rolling ball of skin sitting on my lap and her only want was to eat or poop. Now she’s in 2nd grade and learning faster than the teachers can keep up with her. She’s so intelligent that it scares me, but the information we receive from her teacher and the grades that she receives remind me of myself at that age. Although she’s just finishing 2nd grade she’s already reading at a 5.4 grade level which is amazing. Her math skills are off the charts and every other subject they present to her she flows right into and excels at.

She seems to be able to make friends easily, which is a great thing considering that all 3 of her older siblings seem to have troubles with that. I sometimes wonder if it’s because we moved up here when she was so young that she may be considered a local. I know the boys have problems making friends, but much of that is attributed to their Asperger’s Syndrome and all we can do is intervene as much as possible to teach them the skills to socially make those friends and develop the needed skills. Unfortunately with ALynn, we moved here when she started 3rd grade and it seems that by that point most of the kids had made their friendships and see her as an outsider so she doesn”t fit in well. I have recently found out that one of the big reasons that no one wants to be friends with her is because of a stupid occurence that happened at the local park. There were several boys that showed up with a mini motor bike that decided it was a good idea to ride the bike on the playground and even went so far as to put the bike on one of the pieces of playground equipment. ALynn got upset and ran to tell me. When I saw the bike on the equipment I decided to call the police so of course they showed up. The boys made the decision that ALynn is the one that snitched on them and spread the rumor that she’s a snitch. Since this valley seems to thrive on gossip that rumor spread by wildfire and now most of the people her age have labeled her a snitch and therefore don’t want to be her friend. I don’t want to tell her about it because I don’t want her to get mad at me or build up more animosity towards the kids she goes to school with. She’s made the cheerleading squad and I’m praying that will turn around this entire stupid rumor mill and people will finally realize what a wonderful person she is and how lucky they would be to be her friends.

Paige’s baptism was today at 1pm. I played the piano and my mom directed the music. ALynn even gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost using a story that included Pinocchio, Gepetto and Jiminy Cricket. She did a great job. Grandpa Dave baptized and confirmed her. Steve Jensen and Grandpa Johnie were the witnesses to the baptizm. Her foot come up a little but fortunately it didn’t surface so she only had to get dunked once. When I helped her out of the font she gave me a weird look like she really had no idea what to think. My dad gave a good confirmation blessing, that my mom wrote down and I will hopefully get a copy of it to put in here. Bishop Dean Anderson, Jake Reynolds, Steve, Steve Jensen, Elder Hedgecock and Elder Lo-yat also stood in the cirlce. In order to prepare for this baptism, Paige asked to have the Elders teach her the baptism missionary lessons and we’ve created a good relationship with them. Afterwards, we had a nice lunch/dinner of pulled brisket sandwiches, baked beans, chips, potato salad, soda pop and cupcakes. Grandma and Grandpa Bird, Grandma and Grandpa Kingery, both the elders, and Steve and Jenna Jensen’s family all came to help celebrate. I also sent around a piece of paper and asked everyone that was in attendance to write down their thoughts and knowledge for Paige on being baptized. It filled a full sheet of type paper, both sides. We also asked the Bishop, Jake Reynolds and her Primary teacher Sister Aikele to write down something for her as well. They said they would write it down on the meeting agenda and bring it by later. I think it will make a nice memento for her. We took family pictures, picture of her and Grandpa Dave, and her and the Elders for her to remember with as well. Hopefully I’ll get some pictures added to this as well. I hope this experience stays strong in her mind and that she remembers how important it is to live her life to the standards necessary to return to heaven and to be happy here in this existence. She already tries to live by a good example even though she does occasionally give in to the temptations of her friends. She has a strong spirit and is strong-willed and if she uses that to her advantage I think she’s got a wonderful, healthy and religiously solid future ahead of her.

Hello world and Merry Christmas from the Kingery household! This year has held many interesting things for all of us, but we’ll keep the stories brief and just give everyone a brief update and send you all on with a Happy Holiday wish.

Steve is doing a great job at the hospital here and when he’s not working he takes time to enjoy life and spend quality time with the family. Early this year he had back surgery and is recovering well from it.

Kristen is still enjoying doing embroidery and designing. In June she had a scary episode of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Luckily she’s recovering much quicker than anticipated and looks forward to a complete recovery eventually.

ALynn is a beautiful 15 year-old. She played JV volleyball this year and looks forward to playing throughout the rest of high school. She got her learning permit for driving and can qualify for her license in February, look out world! She loves to draw, text, crochet, and figure out ways to do her gorgeous hair and fun new fingernail designs.

Alek started middle school this year and although we anticipated problems with all the big changes, he’s once again surprised us all and is adjusting quite well. He hit a fabulous milestone this year when we were able to wean him off his seizure medication and was declared seizure free! He still loves his Legos and his favorite school subject is Science. He’s going to blow us all away with the things he’s going to accomplish in life. He also earned his hunter’s safety this year and got to go hunting with dad.

Mac is a Webelos this year and is looking forward already to moving up with the big Boy Scouts. He’s always on the go and needs something to keep him busy whether it’s indoors or out. He loves to go fishing and it seems to be his traditional birthday request – to go camping and fishing.

Paige is, well, Paige. She’s a snarky, spunky little girl with red hair and freckles and the attitude to go with it. She loves to help out and especially loves to cook, even chopping onions! She can’t wait till next year when she’s finally old enough to compete in the county Dutch oven cook-off against (or with) her siblings.

We hope you are all doing well and enjoying life to the fullest. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Find joy in all the little things every day. We have a nightly tradition where we each say what we’re grateful for and then log it in a notebook. Some nights we have something profound to share while other nights we’re just grateful for air freshener. We call it Gratitude Check and it helps us to appreciate what we have and how blessed we truly are. May you all be blessed in more ways than you can count, we are just by having you in our lives.

I was chatting with some friends on Facebook the other day and was reminded of an amazing and inspiring young lady named Carly. Please take a few minutes to learn about her story and then share it with your friends, loved ones and even strangers.

Hopefully this year will bring us all wonderful joys & surprises. While last year didn’t find us in a new home, there are lots of things we’re looking forward to. Please keep your fingers crossed & hopefully soon I’ll be a businesswoman & things will be full of new & different things for us to experience.

Until things officially unfold, I hope that everyone has a great new year & that you all find something wonderful.

So, anyone who knows us knows that we desperately need a real house to live in. Well, we think we’ve found it! Now the real ponderings kick in. Do we go into debt and buy it? It’s such a stressful thing to do. The house is perfect for us. When we took the kids to see it they were totally excited. We talked with the seller and he thinks if we kick it into gear we could have it all done and ready to be in by Christmas! What a great present! You can check out the virtual model tour at http://nashuahomesofidaho.com/Tour542.aspx and let me know what you think. There are a couple of differences between the tour and the actual house we’re looking at, but the overall layout is the same. I’ll let you know how it all pans out… Wish us luck!

Just so you all know. Contrary to the popular belief that I am a scamp, SKAAMP is actually a very clever acronym I came up with when I was forced to become another “van mom” and decided the only way I could accept that fact was to get personalized plates to make it more acceptable. So, SKAAMP is the first initials of everyone in my family in alphabetical order – Steve, Kristen, ALynn, Alek, Mac, Paige. So there it is, I am not a scamp. In fact, I’m not really anything that exciting until you fold the rest of my family into it! Gotta love a unique family, huh?